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New Jersey Devils: Wedgewood Should Have Leg Up In Backup Competition |
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Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
There is no shortage of competition for roster spots on the New Jersey Devils this season.
A handful of young forwards are hoping to make the jump full-time up front while Yohann Auvitu, Steve Santini, Seth Helgeson and Brandon Gormley, among others, are fighting over a couple spots on the back end.
That said, the most intriguing battle may be Scott Wedgewood and Keith Kinkaid duking it out to be the team's backup goaltender.
Both guys need to clear waivers to be sent down so neither player's contract situation will be a factor in this job. Ultimately their play over the next few weeks will do the talking but I think Wedgewood should enter camp with the leg up over Kinkaid. In other words if both goaltenders perform at a similar level Wedgewood should be the guy the Devils keep.
A few reasons for this:
1) Wedgewood is 24 and the Devils invested a 3rd round pick in him a few years ago. Kinkaid is 27 and was undrafted. When performance is even you always go with the younger player; especially when more was invested into said player.
2) Wedgewood's save percentage in Albany has improved in three consecutive years and last year he was one of the AHL's best goaltenders. He also was spectacular with the big club, albeit over a very small sample size, and his two best performances (26-27 vs WSH, 39-39 vs Pittsburgh) came against the top teams in the conference. Again, the sample size is smaller but Wedgewood has continually improved in recent years and I think the upside with him is higher.
3) Despite playing for a sound defensive team Kinkaid has a .909 career save percentage through 43 NHL appearances. That is below league average. There is still room for improvement but at 27 what you see now is probably very close to what you'll see moving forward. Do you want to commit to what looks to be at best an average backup?
4) I think Kinkaid has a better chance of passing through waivers. Not many teams need goaltending help and those that do probably won't be racing to grab a 27-year-old with a (slightly) below league average save percentage. I'd think teams would more inclined to take a shot on a 24-year-old who dominated the AHL last season and was excellent when he was able to get into a few NHL games.
If either goaltender is noticeably better than the other that is who will be kept around. However, if it's close I think Wedgewood is the guy worth holding onto.
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